Gun trap



Dec. 21, 1948.. H. B. KCH Er AL l GUN TRAP Filed sept. 28. 1945*- MW mwNm NLH T I 0 A 0d HMM BYv Patented Dec. 2l, 1948 "ein Isignorslfto-'AnimallTrap Company of Arilerica`,-'LY Lititz', iPa'lg acorporation lijf Pennsylvanaff-l Aiplcatin september 2s, 15145,

Fzioiaims. (Clase-wi The present invention "relates` to 'trapsfor def'stroying predatory anirnal's,fcrA exampl; Coyotes and W'o'l-ves;` by'explosivelydischarging poisonor otherf'rnaterial into the" mouth ofananimal springing th'eltrap The poison and Va propellant charge -`oiexplosive are"` preferablycontained in a gca'rtrid'ge somewhat' similarvto a gun `cartridge' The cartridge is"re'd by' a trap" provided'withmeansfor holding the cartridge and suitablebait or lure, a" rin'g pin`for"discha`rging therca'r# trid'gef and trigger` 'mechanism'forfreleasirig-"tli' jing pin to discharge the cartridge when the `baitisseizedby an animal for whichv the trap'is set;

es the traps are' operated'out of doors, Where they vare subject to'thedeIeteriOUs effects` of* dirt, rain, snow, ice, etc., it is`irrlportant for"them to be" capabletfof joeratingtmsaltisactorily"under err-tre ely-* a`dyersie" conditin's'l Moreover,y the Variousexpedients have been resortedtot accomplish these ends, but there' hasremained a `neo'd'for a" device adapt-edito operate'1positively when aipre'datorfpmlls upwardly on ia-'bait -lout to be substantially freeiromIda-ngerl-'of operation under otherfconditions; Which can be usedand re-use'clwith extreme A`ease-and certainty, and which i is composedof simple, rugged fand ldurable operating.; parts, 'and canbe cheaplymanufac'` .tnred` f With the foregoing-and'other 4considerations inView", the present invention providesb-anfarrangement which* canbelsafely''andteectiiely used under a' Wide variety of conditions andwhich sfexceedirig-lyaccurate and selective infoperation andarrangementz The' parts are'soarrangedas te vce1snostantia'llyI freeVfrom such Wear as1 might effect the" accuracy and selectivity ofitl'ie"device during continued useandy are'soformedas to prt-vide e'aseofsetting thetrap, -anda maximum ofl certainty and 1 effectiveness in-operation;

In thel drawings; i Fig. 1V isa side "View of afgun? tr'apfexeplifying lthjeinvention, eport-ion of-thedeivice'being-shown' broken "away toexpose' the parts underneath.

Fig; 2 is a' View atfright'angles to Fig. 1, a por' tion of the devicebeing shown broken" away t'o expose the partslunderneath. i

Fig. 3"'is a longitudinal;sectional viewiof'the' upper" portion thereofafter'fthe" cartridge ha'sloeenA red." l I.

Fi. 4 isa section-ontneiiiealarofrigji; yand Fig. 5 is an enlargedfragmentary viewjofpa'rt cordirigly', .lwhen'rthe'ifportionzis'. rotatedin' a counter-clockwise fdirection, tlie *Scorlnerf 279i thererof= willcam lthecatclrii 20 outwardly` and 'withdraw the end! 2l fofthe-flatterfromlthe pathfofiupwar vward movement of the holder II.

of the end 2| allows the spring I4 to drive the ring pin upwardly,permitting its point 30 to protrude through an opening 3| in the top ofthe cylinder l 2 to strike a cartridge I5 and explode it.

Counter-clockwise movement of the cam portion 28 to spring the trap iscaused by relative vertical movement of the bracket 26 and the free endof arm 33 of the release'member 25. Since upward movement of the holderII and the cylinder I2 will occur when a predator tries to detach abait, and since the brackets 26 are attached to and move upwardly withthe cylinder I2, upward movement of the holder II will result in therotation of the portion 2,'I and the release of the ring pin unit if theend of arm 33 of the re,- lease member 25 is held stationary. In orderto hold the end of arm 33 stationary, it is attached to the stake memberIIJ, being releasably attached in the present instance by means, ofl achain link 34 extendingdownwardly therefrom and secured to thestakinember, as by a pressedout and bent-in lug 35. The end of arm 33 ofthe release 251s bent upwardly as shown in order that it may securelyretain the link 34.

The provision of rotary camming. means'assures quick releasing action ata given time'without danger of release at an earlier time,` and theprovision of a detachable camming member facilitates boththemanipulation and the operation of the trap.

There is provided a pin,36 directly above the release member 25 toprevent the rotation of the member of the portion Z'I in a clockwisedirection I(Fig. and thus avoiding danger of accidental release of thegun by downward pressure on the holder Il, as, for example, if an animalsteps on it. The socket member isvprovided with a notch atA 3'I toreceive the release member 25. The lower edge of the notch 3'I ,servesas a shoulder upon which the release 25 is adapted to rest when it is ina horizontal position against the pin 36, thus limiting the .downwardlmovement of the holder II and cylinder I2 in the socket member I0. Thelink 34 extends up suilciently above the bottom of the notch 3`I topermit the link to be swung over the upturned end of the arm 33 when thetrap is being set. The link 34 is hence slack when the arm 33 rests onthe bottom of the notch 3I. In Figs. 1 and 2 the cylinder is shownraised sufliciently -to` take the f slack out of the link 34. Furtherupward movement of the cylinder I I results in the link pulling downwardon the arm 33 to rotate the cam portion 28 and release the ring pin.

In order to permit a trap to be set simply by I As shown inthe drawings,the cylinder I2 is ,made` considerably smaller than the interiordiameter of the socket member I0so as to permit considerable lateral andangular movement` of y the holder II, as when it is knocked by grazingcattle or by exploratory touches of a predator,

.without in any way affecting the stability of the firing pin which willbe released only upon upthus be free from danger of operation bytilting, but will be operated with effectiveness and certainty when apredator pulls the bait upwardly to dislodge it. If a predator seizesthe bait and pulls upwardly at an angle to the Vertical the The gun willi 4 holder II is automatically tilted to aim the gun trap at the animalsmouth.

As will be seen, the release of the firing pin unit is positive afterthe portion 2'I has been rotated to a measured extent, but until thistime the firing pin is held securely in place. Moreover, it is effectedwithout significant wear on the cam member, which is subjected tofriction only during its own small movement. Thus the time of releaseremains substantially constant throughout very many release andresetting operations.

The trap can be set time and again with the utmost ease by merelypressing down on the point 30 of the ring pin with a tool of the usualtype inserted in the holder II prior to the placement of a cartridge.There is no substantial possibility ofany of the parts blocking any ofthe other parts in this operation.

In use, the stake or socket I0, with the cylinder IZ, is driven into theground. The ring pin is set by being pushed inwardly with a suitabletool engaging the point of the firing pin and passing through theopening 3I. A cartridge is placedin the cartridge chamber and thechamber isfscrewed onto the cylinder I2. The cylinder is then insertedin the socket II) with the release member 25 resting in the notch 3'Iand the link 34 isy swung up over the arm 33 of the release member.Suitable bait or lure may be secured to the cartridge chamber eitherbefore or after it is attached to the cylinder. The sequence of stepsrequired to put the trap in the set position shown in Fig. 1 may beVaried, as desired.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is.

1. In a gun trap, the combination with a socket member, a hollowcylinder longitudinally movable in said socket member, a cartridgeholder movable with said hollow cylinder, and a spring-pressed firingpin movable within said hollow cylinder to contact and to fire acartridge in said holder of a resilient catch adapted to engage saidring pin and normally urged by its resilience into engagement with saidfiring pin to hold the ring pin in cocked position, means movableindependently of the aforesaid elements for positively camming saidcatch out against its resiliency to release said ring pin when saidholder is moved vertically in one direction, and means for restrictingthe movement of said holder in the opposite direction to prevent releaseof the catch by such movement.

2. In a gun trap, the combination with a socket member, a hollowcylinder longitudinally movable in said socket member, a cartridgeholder movable with said hollow cylinder, and a spring-pressed firingpin movable within said hollow cylinder to contact and to lire acartridge in said holder, of a resilient member extending upwardly froma lower portion of said cylinder and having at its upper end a detentportion adapted to engage :said ring pin and normally urged intoengagement with said ring pin by the resilience of said member to holdthe ring pin in cocked position, rotatable means adjacent said resilient.member and having a cam portion disposed between said member and thewall of said cylinder adapted to flex said arm positively to withdrawsaid end and release the firing pin, and means to rotate said rotatablemeans.

3. In a gun trap, the combination with a socket member, a hollowcylinder longitudinally movable in said socket member, a cartridgeholder with Said hollow cylinder, and a spring-pressed ring 5 pinmovable within said hollow cylinder to contact and to fire a cartridgein said holder, of a resilient member extending upwardly from a lowerportion of said cylinder and having at its upper end a detent portionadapted to engage said ring pin and norm-ally urged into engagement withsaid firing pin by the resiliency of said member to hold the ring pin incocked position, rotatable means adjacent said resilient member andhaving a cam portion between said member and the wall of said cylinderadapted positively to ex said arm outwardly to withdraw said end andrelease the ring pin, an operating arm extending from said rotatablemeans, and means to releasably connect said arm with said socket member.

4. In a gun trap, the combination with a socket member, a hollowcylinder longitudinally movable in said socket member, a cartridgeholder movable with said hollow cylinder and a spring-pressed firing pinmovable within said hollow cylinderV to contact and to re a cartridge insaid holder, of a resilient member extending upwardly from a lowerportion of said cylinder and having an upper end adapted normally toengage said ring pin, a bent wire having a deformed portion in proximityto said resilient member and mounted on said cylinder for rotation ofthe deformed portion to exert a camming action on the resilient in saidsocket member, a cartridge holder movable with said hollow cylinder anda spring-pressed ring pin movable within said hollow cylinder to contactand to fire a cartridge in said holder, of a resilient member extendingupwardly from a lower portion of said cylinder and having an upper endadapted normally to engage said ring pin a bent wire having a deformedportion in proximity to said resilient member `and mounted on saidcylinder for rotation of the deformed portion to exert a camming actionon the resilient member to release the catch, and having a transverselyextending portion having an upturned end, 4and connecting means flexiblysecured to said socket member and extending over said upturned end.

6. In a gun trap, the combination with an anchor, a hollow cylindricalmember, movable relative to said anchor, a cartridge holder associatedwith said member and a .Spring-pressed firing pin movable within saidhollow member and adapted to strike and re a cartridge held by saidholder, of meansv for releasably holding said ring pin in cockedposition comprising a resilient member mounted on the exterior of saidhollow member and a detent portion extending through the wall of saidhollow member and normally pressed inwardly by the resiliency of saidresilient member to hold the firing pin in cocked position and a releasemember connected with said anchor and having a cam portion disposedbetween said resilient member and the wall of said hollow member andadapted positively to move said detent portion outwardly against thepressure of said resilient member, to release the ring pin upon movementof said hollow member relative to said anchor.

7. In a gun trap provided with anchoring means, a hollow cylindricalmember movable relative to said anchoring means, a cartridge holderassociated with said member, and a spring pressed firing pin movable insaid hollow member and adapted to strike and fire a cartridge held bysaid holder, the combination of a spring member mounted on the exteriorof said hollow member and having a free end portion turned inwardly atapproximately right angles and projecting through the wall of saidhollow member, said in-turned end portion being normally pressedinwardly by the resiliency of said spring to engage the firing pin andhold it in cocked position, and a wire shaped to provide a shaft portionrotatably mounted on said cylinder and having a deformed portiondisposed between said f spring and the wall of said hollow member andadapted toexert a camming action on the spring positively to push thespring out to withdraw said in-turned end and release the firing pin,and an arm portion projecting laterally from said shaft portion, saidarm being operatively connected with said anchoring means to rotate saidshaft portion upon relative movement of said hollow member and anchoringmeans.

HAR-OLD B. KOCH.

JOHN U. LEHN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:v

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,233,268 Gleason July 10, l|9171,254,130 Fencl et al Aug. 14, 1923 2,145,488 Marlman Jan. 31,1939

